


Forever You Will Be My Home

by queerly_yours



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Ace!Quoiro!Agender!Liam, Agender Character, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Demiromantic!Demigirl!Scott, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary!Malia, Other, Platonic Kissing, Platonic Relationships, Polyamory, Queerplatonic!Liam/Mason, Trans Character, Transmasculine!Cora, Transmasculine!Stiles, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-19 15:24:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5971822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerly_yours/pseuds/queerly_yours
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There they were, two-thirty in the afternoon on a beautiful, clear day, laying on a succulent printed blanket, their sides pressed firmly against one another from shoulders to toes, when Mason leaned over, pulling Liam’s attention away from the seagulls, seemingly floating in the air, and kissed them.</p><p>When Mason pulled back, his eyes were clear and as honest as ever. He didn’t look unsure or unhappy. He looked content in a way that Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him, but Liam…they were confused. Did this mean that Mason wanted more out of this relationship? Did Mason like Liam? Did Mason think Liam wanted the kiss? Did Mason want romance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever You Will Be My Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hazelNuts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/gifts).



> Scott uses she/her pronouns. Malia uses sie/hir pronouns. Liam uses they/them pronouns.
> 
> {happy valentine's day, marianne!}

The smooth glide of the black, glitter eyeliner settles something distinctly off in Liam’s chest. Thick, black mascara follows, then pastel pink lip balm. If you had asked them a year ago if they would be standing in front a mirror putting on makeup, they would have laughed. Not because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t feel like they could.

As they stand and take in their reflection, they recall the moment that changed their perspective on life and their ideas about family.

Malia Tate is a staple of Beacon Hills High School. Sie has a solid group of friends – The Pack, they call themselves – a punk rock attitude, and a wild streak a mile wide. Malia once got suspended for stapling the most hated teacher in school’s toupee on the flag out front. Sie spray-painted it, too – glittery hot pink – since Harris refused to let sie take a makeup text from when hir father was in a car accident. Harris insisted that the “rule book was firm on these policies,” and though sie got suspended for three days, Harris was reprimanded once sie told hir story to the principal.

Liam was curious and maybe a little awestruck by hir sheer tenacity, and one morning, they saw Malia kiss hir girlfriend, a cute, petite, dark haired girl named Kira, then turn back to hir locker, and decided to seize the opportunity. They walked up behind Malia and tapped hir leather clad shoulder. When sie turned around, Liam was struck by how beautiful sie was, up close like this, and they stuttered a bit, feeling warmth spread over their cheeks.

Malia raised hir dark eyebrows at them. “Yeah?” sie asked, sticking hir hands on hir hips and rolling hir eyes.

“Uh – I just – I wanted to say that was really brave and I –“ they broke off, feeling even more like an idiot than before, but just as they were about to turn around and run to leave the most awkward encounter of their life in the dust, Malia punched them in the shoulder.

Sie smiles. “Yeah?” sie asked again, but this time it was more excited. “You know, you’re not my type, but I think you should come hang out with us sometime,” sie told them thoughtfully.

Liam gaped, but had the clarity to say, “I’m not interested – I mean, not like – I’d love to hang out with The Pack sometime, but-”

Liam broke off as Malia laughed, a low, musical sound that started at the tips of hir toes and rang clearly through hir sarcastic mouth. Sie patted Liam’s cheek. “The pack?” sie asked, raising a pointed eyebrow. “You’re cute.”

“I’m asexual,” they blurted without preamble, then froze.

Malia squinted at them, but pulled hir hand back from their cheek, tapping the grey, black, and white pin on their backpack, whispering conspiratorially, “I know.” Sie turned back to hir locker, pulling out a warped purple binder covered in band stickers and sharpie art before slamming the locker and flipping back around. “You should still come hang out. I think everyone would like you.”

Sie then turned on hir heels and walked toward the cafeteria, studded boots clapping the scuffed linoleum floor, leaving Liam completely baffled, but hopeful. Hopeful that maybe, just _maybe_ , high school wouldn’t turn out to be as awful as they thought it would be. And maybe, whispered the smallest place in the back of their mind, they could find a group of people who would accept them for who they were.

Liam’s fingers worry at the hem of their favorite floral tee before pulling it over their head. It’s a bit worn in places, has a hole under one arm, but it’s their favorite and that’s all they want to wear today, Valentine’s Day, which means a little something different for them and their group of friends than others, probably. They choose to celebrate as a group on the day and have private celebrations later with their partners. Tonight it’s Deadpool at the local drive-in with Chinese takeout from their favorite local haunt.

“Chinese and popcorn?” Scott had asked, face scrunched up in disgust.

Allison tugged at the long, dark hair that curled behind Scott’s ear, grabbing her attention. She kissed Scott’s cheek and teased, “This coming from the person who likes gummy bears and twizzlers on her cheese fries?”

Scott grinned and ducked her head, brushing her fingers slowly down her burgundy, velour dress. “Okay, fine. Deadpool and takeout it is,” she said on a sigh.

The whole group cheered in excitement and Isaac tackled Scott, peppering kisses all over her face. Liam always felt a little strange watching people kiss, uncertain as to whether it was the romance of it all or the actual act of kissing that made them uncomfortable. They leaned into Mason’s side, his arm coming around them and settling on their side. That feeling of love radiated through them. This, with Mason, was okay, though, as far as public displays of affection went.

Mason squeezed Liam’s side and pressed a kiss to their messy, blonde hair that was currently streaked with pastel pink. “Are we still on for the beach tomorrow?” he asked, catching Liam’s blue eyes.

Liam smiled up at him, biting at their silver lip ring, and nodded. The beach was _their_ place. The place where they went to escape it all – high school, parents, responsibilities. A place where the crushing feeling of too much blew away on the sea breeze at high tide. They brought blankets and junk food and an old, beat up boombox that only played cassette tapes, which was fine by Liam. They loved to blast old school hip hop, early punk, and classic rock. Mason would only listen to top forty crap if Liam hadn’t intervened and broadened his horizons.

There they were, two-thirty in the afternoon on a beautiful, clear day, laying on a succulent printed blanket, their sides pressed firmly against one another from shoulders to toes, when Mason leaned over, pulling Liam’s attention away from the seagulls, seemingly floating in the air, and kissed them.

When Mason pulled back, his eyes were clear and as honest as ever. He didn’t look unsure or unhappy. He looked content in a way that Liam wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him, but Liam…they were confused. Did this mean that Mason wanted more out of this relationship? Did Mason _like_ Liam? Did Mason think Liam wanted the kiss? Did Mason want romance?

It’s not as if their friendship wasn’t strange to some, Liam thought as they made their way home from the beach. They were close – closer than most. Hell, Liam felt closer to Mason than they felt to any of their friends, but they rarely, if ever felt that romantic connection to anyone and, though, if they could have chosen someone to have feelings for, it would have been Mason, hands down, but they just…didn’t. 

Liam sighs, pressing their forehead to the full-length mirror that is littered with pictures of The Pack, but mostly of them and Mason. Their eyes catch on their favorite photo of the two of them. One where Mason is giving Liam a piggy-back ride, their face tucked into Mason’s neck, Mason grinning and leaning into Liam. They groan.

“Favorite shirt day?” Scott asks, startling them out of their internal monologue and causing them to smack their forehead on the mirror. Scott cringes, an apologetic smile on her lips. “Sorry, dude.”

Liam just rubs their forehead and shrugs at her. “Yeah, I – I guess.” They pull the photo off the mirror and plop onto the bed, staring at it as if it has all the secrets to the universe, but, really, a picture is just a picture.

Scott sits down beside Liam, bumping their shoulders together in solidarity. “You okay?” Liam looks to Scott. She looks beautiful. Her hair has grown out in the past few months, now curling around her ears and sweeping into her eyes. Her lips are a deep red today – the same color as her skater dress. Ripped, black tights and combat boots – no doubt Malia’s influence – complete her look.

“You look…” they trail off, blush creeping up their neck. Not that they are attracted to Scott in _that_ way, but they have a hard time expressing themself sometimes in regards to beauty. It makes them nervous. “…beautiful.”

Scott smiles at them, not quite meeting their eyes, embarrassed and a touch flattered. She knows what it means for Liam to say that. “Thanks, but, really, are you okay? Mason told me that you’ve been weird since the beach and he was confused.”

Liam only shrugs in response, but Scott throws an arm over their shoulder. “You know you can talk to me about whatever,” she reminds him gently, tapping their chest. “We’re pack. Family.”

At that, Liam smiles the tiniest of smiles and nods, looking up to Scott, who has been such a support in their life. From school crap to personal to family. She helped them when they weren’t sure if they liked any gender or none. She had said that it took her a long time to come to terms with being demiromantic and that it took some time to work through it. Falling for Allison and Isaac was like honey dripping form a honeycomb, slow and sweet and perfect, but it took time and she wasn’t sure they’d wait, but they did and she couldn’t have been happier. Scott was like the older sibling Liam never had and they were so glad to have met her.

“Okay,” they say on a sigh, sliding down onto the floor and turning to face Scott. They tell Scott what happened – that Mason kissed them and then went back to perfectly normal as if kissing on the lips was just a _thing_ that they do every day, as if it were part of their everyday routine. Scott nods her head along, but looks a bit puzzled still.

“We don’t do that Scott. What if Mason wants more than I give him? What if he wants to – “ Liam breaks off, gesturing wildly. “- Be my _person_ or whatever?” With distress high in their voice, they let out a huge sigh and flop onto their back, laying one arm over their face. “I don’t know what to do,” they groan.

Scott crosses her ankles, leaning forward, elbows on her knees. “I think you should talk to him.” Liam groans. “No, you really should.” Another muffled groan escapes Liam’s lips and Scott slides off the bed to lie next to them. She elbows Liam lightly in the side forcing a small giggle out of them. “Trust me. Look, you guys love each other. You’re already his person and he’s your person. I don’t think he would’ve kissed you like that and then not said anything if he’d meant it to be a big deal or whatever.”

Liam’s arm drops just enough so that their anxious eyes can see Scott, who is looking at them intently. “Yeah?”

Scott nods. “Yeah.” She gathers herself up off the bedroom floor and holds a hand out to Liam. “Come on. The movie starts in half an hour and Stiles is gonna murder us if we don’t get him at the _minimum_ twenty crab Rangoon.” That startles a genuine laugh out of Liam.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” they reply, grinning and dusting off their t-shirt. “Let’s go.”

~~~

Half of the pack is already at the show when Scott and Liam show up. Malia cheers and is consequently booed and shushed by everyone within three cars around them. Sie stand up and point hir middle finger to the sky, twirling around so that everyone can see. The pack laughs and cheers hir on until popcorn starts flying in their direction and Kira pulls a giggling Malia down into her lap.

Liam doesn’t mean to stare, but they are. As Malia hits Kira’s lap, sie wraps hir arms around her, touching their foreheads together, all smiles and a light blush dusting hir cheeks. Their eyes are locked and Liam feels like they’re interrupting a private moment.

Just as they pull their eyes away, Mason strides up. “Hey,” he says, ducking his head, looking more awkward than anything.

“Hey,” Liam lets out on a breath. They feel themself picking at the bottom of their shirt, fingers antsy with nerves. “Uh – we should –“ They gesture to the pack, who left them a corner of the large, plaid blanket. It’s handmade. Allison’s mom, though she may be a bit strict for Liam’s tastes, made it for them so they didn’t have to bring multiples. It stays in the back of Allison’s Corolla at all times, just in case.

Liam starts off, but Mason grabs their hand. “Hey,” he says as Liam turns back. “Come talk to me for a sec?” His eyes are imploring and, rather than suffer the puppy dogs eyes that Liam swears Scott taught him, they nod and wander off with him, hand in hand.

One afternoon, when the pack were hanging out by the pond on the preserve, Mason took Liam’s hand. It was to help them out of the lake because Liam looked like they were going to slip on the rocks that littered the ground beneath the murky water. But Mason never let go of Liam’s hand. He held it as they walked through the path in the woods, as they laid in the warm, summer sun, as they stumbled over roots and rocks in their way.

Mason held Liam’s hand as they walked to class, as they watched movies, as they waited for the bus on the rare day that the seniors of the pack had skip day. Mason always held Liam’s hand.

And Liam loved it.

Liam loved him.

They stop where the drive in ends and the woods begin and Mason turns to Liam, pulling them into a warm hug. He holds onto the back of Liam’s shirt and breathes in deeply, like they’ve been apart for weeks, not just a couple days. Liam runs his hands up and down Mason’s back, soothing, comforting, so much of this feels backwards – wrong. Mason is always the one to comfort Liam. Mason is so strong that this…it’s unnerving.

“Mason?” Liam whispers into the juncture of Mason’s neck. They want to press a kiss there, right at his collar, as they always have, but now they aren’t sure. They squeeze Mason once and pull back, looking into his steadfast eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Mason says, pulling Liam’s hands into his own. “I didn’t think that kiss through. I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

“Mason,” Liam replies, unsure of what else to say. Does this mean Mason doesn’t want them anymore? They feel tears threatening to fall, but hold them back.

“No, Liam. No,” he corrects. “I meant I shouldn’t have kissed you without _asking_.”

Liam feels the small knot of tension in their stomach start to loosen, but the butterflies in there are still fluttering around their ribcage. “Okay,” they say slowly.

Mason huffs out a breath. “You don’t get it.” He pulls his hands away from Liam to rub his face and starts pacing. “I wanted to kiss you, but I should have asked, okay?”

They don’t know what to do, but nod, so that’s exactly what they do, standing still and quiet as the sounds of cicadas and laughter swirl around them.

“I didn’t mean it in any way like…” he trails off, pausing in his pacing, gesturing to the air. “Romantic. I just love you and I wanted to then, but I –“

“Should have asked,” Liam finishes, smiling at him. “I know, Mason. You said that seventeen times already. It’s okay.” They close the distance between them and press a kiss to Mason’s cheek. “I was surprised,” they admit.

Mason laughs. “And worried.”

“Well, yeah,” they agree, rolling their eyes. “You love me?”

“Of course I do,” Mason says, leaning in to press a kiss to Liam’s forehead.

Liam looks down, eyebrows drawn, and moves the dirt around with their foot. “Are you happy with me? With us?”

“Of course I am,” Mason answers quickly, pulling Liam’s face up to meet his. “You’re like my…my _best_ best friend. My _bro_ est of the bros. My –“

“Okay, Mason, _please_ stop. I get it,” they mock beg, before bursting out in laughter. Mason joins them and soon there’s popcorn being thrown in their direction by movie-goers _and_ the pack.

Liam snags Mason’s hand. “Guess we should go watch,” they tell Mason as they walk the short distance back to their friends. “It’s a good thing we’ve seen this three times already.”

“Three times?” Stiles asks, appalled, popcorn crumbs littering his shirt. Cora leans over and picks a piece off his lips.

“Don’t be so offended, Stiles,” Lydia says. “Cora and I have seen it twice.” She grins at Cora and kisses his cheek. “It’s amazing.”

Stiles squawks. “You people don’t understand the sanctity of Marvel, do you?”

If they let him, Stiles will run off on a tangent for the duration of the movie, so Cora slaps his hand over Stiles’ mouth, effectively shutting him up. The pack thanks Cora and they turn back to the movie.

Mason and Liam take their corner and Mason wraps his arm around Liam’s shoulder as Liam takes in their pack, their unconventional family. Scott laying her head in Allison’s lap while Isaac plays with her hair. Lydia and Cora whispering and throwing popcorn at Malia and Kira, who are cuddling at the bottom of the blanket. And Stiles, watching the movie intently. If Liam isn’t mistaken, Stiles is reciting the dialogue.

“Hasn’t seen it, my ass,” Liam whispers to Mason, nodding to Stiles.

Mason wheezes out a laugh, causing Liam to start, and then the whole pack is laughing and throwing food at one another and carrying on, _completely_ disturbing the movie and, no doubt, getting them banned _again_. But they don’t care. This is their pack and pack means family. They wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
